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Sep 29, 2009, 14:02 GMT

FDP-leader Westerwelle snubs request to speak in English

Berlin - The leader of the Free Democrats (FDP) Guido Westerwelle, widely billed as Germany's next Foreign Minister, came under international criticism on Tuesday after refusing to speak in English to a journalist. Westerwelle, whose FDP is to enter into government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU after Sunday's general election, told a BBC reporter his request for an English answer was inappropriate. 'In Great Britain it is expected that people speak English, and it is the same in Germany - people are expected to speak German,' the FDP leader said in a press conference on Monday. The 47-year-old, who has never held a ministerial post, is expected to become foreign minister in the new cabinet, a post often reserved for the junior coalition partner. British daily Independent said the incident gave 'an enlightening foretaste of a new Teutonic assertiveness in international affairs.' On YouTube, a video soon appeared, dated 2006, proving that Westerwelle could speak proficient yet stilted English. 'All we wanted was a quote on the German economy for a programme,' a BBC journalist told German Press Agency dpa. The FDP's election manifesto pushes for a greater international role for German. 'The promotion of the German language abroad must be given more emphasis again,' the manifesto reads. Coalition negotiations, determining the government programme and distribution of ministerial posts between the CDU and FDP, are due to start Monday.

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